Implementation Keys to Success

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ImplementationKeys to Success
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Implementation
IMPLEMENTATION

• Methodology Best Practices
• Methodology Best Practices Checklist
• Implementation Lifecycle view
• Project Organization Chart
• Roles and Responsibilities Guide
• Key Concepts / Lessons Learned
• Project Management
• Planning
• Requirements / Scope Management
• BPR / RICE
• User Involvement
• Security
• Testing
• Documentation
• Signoffs

To develop detailed requirements and design,
build, and test the system
Inputs Project Charter Contracts
Outputs Business Solution Trained End Users Help
Desk / Support
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Project Management

• Why is this Important?
• Drive the project to business / organization
  goals and benefits
• Assure the project is on-time, on-budget and
  meets performance requirements
• Continuous expectation management and
  communication
• Proactively address / escalate project issues
• Continuous validation and updating (on an
  exception basis) of the Business Case and Project
  Charter

IMPLEMENTATION
What is Project Management? Overall
responsibility to assure the project is planned
and executed to meet the cost, schedule and
performance requirements as stated in the Project
Charter (including the Business Case)

• Who?
• Sponsors are responsible for progress validation
  and making key decisions on escalation/exception
  basis
• Project Managers drive weekly overall project
  execution and assure integration
• Team leads are responsible for managing their
  teams and assuring completion of tasks
• Note Client and SI Program/Project Managers
  work together - Responsibility shifts toward
  client as project progresses

• When?
• Throughout the project implementation phase

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Project Management
IMPLEMENTATION

• Key to Success
• Follow proven implementation methodology
• Manage project to assure goals and benefits
  defined in Project Charter
• Early development of project standards
• Project planning and management
• Regular status meetings and reporting
• Keep Steering Committee engaged
• Effective Issues Management and Escalation
• Proactively identify and manage risks

• Tools
• Project Status Report Template
• Project Status Report Guide
• Project Status Report Metrics
• Sample Issues Management process
• Sample issues log
• Risk Management Checklist

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Planning

• Why is this Important?
• Establish an integrated timeline for the project
• Define tasks, durations, dependencies and
  assignments
• Establish a baseline to drive resourcing and
  measure progress

IMPLEMENTATION

• What is Planning?
• Defining what needs to be done, when, for how
  long and by whom
• Plans
• Project Plan
• Communication Plan
• Training Plan
• Development Plan
• Testing Plan
• End User Training Plan
• Cutover Plan

• Who?
• Project Managers create and own overall plans
• SI drives initial planning ? transitions to
  client PM
• Team leads create and own supporting plans
• Signoff? Sponsors approve overall plans. PMs
  approve team lead supporting plans
• Skills required
• Program management and relevant project
  experience required

• When?
• High level planning occurred during Initiation
  and Acquisition
• Phases and durations defined during Preparation
  
• Detailed plans created every 30 days throughout
  implementation life cycle
• Additional plans as appropriate throughout
  implementation lifecycle

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Planning
IMPLEMENTATION

• Key to Success
• Invest time up front to do thorough planning
• Develop effort driven plans (vs. back scheduling
  from target go-live date)
• Assure plans are developed for all major
  implementation components (overall project,
  training, development, testing, change
  management, communication, cutover, etc)
• Assure supporting detailed plans are integrated
  with overall plan
• Assure plans include dependencies, dates, effort
  and resources
• Leverage SI templates and experience
• Assure tasks and sequencing consistent with
  methodology best practices
• Create and communicate 30-60 day detailed plans

• Tools
• Methodology Best Practices Checklist
• Sample MS Project Plan
• Sample Communi-cations Plan
• Cutover Planning Questionnaire, Guide etc.
• Help Desk Planning Questionnaire, etc.
• Go-live Readiness Checklist Sample

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Detailed Requirements, Scope and Scope Management

• Why is this Important?
• Detailed Requirements Assure understanding of
  what is required to meet the business needs
• Scope Define and communicate clear boundaries
  as to what will be implemented. Leverage COTS
  solutions to drive how requirements will be
  met.
• Scope Management Assure the implementation
  remains focused on those requirements that
  support the business goals

What are Detailed Requirements Those specific
functional and technical requirements evolved
from high-level mid-level requirements
identified as necessary to meet long term
business needs What is Scope? Those
requirements included in the current phase of
implementation What is Scope Management? Assuring
that once the scope has been defined and
approved it is controlled to assure the project
stays on track

• When?
• Define requirements and scope early during
  Detailed Requirements
• Manage entire project lifecycle to assure
  requirements are met and scope is maintained
• Note exceptions are exceptions - not rules

• Who?
• Process owners, key IT, critical management and
  end users define the requirements
• Consultants work with client to interpret
  requirements and assure scope is defined to meet
  the business needs
• Process Owners, PMs and IT signoff on defined
  requirements and initial scope and approve any
  changes that do not impact time or budget
• Executive Sponsor / Steering Committee confirms
  scope and approves any changes that impact time
  or budget

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Detailed Requirements, Scope and Scope Management
IMPLEMENTATION

• Key to Success
• Document all requirements and determine which
  requirements will be included in the scope for
  this implementation.
• Apply 80/20 rule
• Leverage COTS delivered processes
• Engage stakeholders and end users
• Secure signoffs
• Implement Scope Change Control Process

• Tools
• Deliverables, Concepts Signoff Guide
• Scope Change Order request form
• Sample Scope Change Control process

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Testing

• Why is this Important?
• Assure business process goals are achieved
• Assure functional non-functional performance
  goals are achieved
• Proactively identify and address configuration
  and development issues
• Minimize go-live problems

IMPLEMENTATION
What is Testing? The series of tasks performed to
assure that the system will function and perform
as intended and stated in the Project Charter and
Detailed Requirements phase deliverables.

• When?
• Plan for testing during Preparation, Detailed
  Requirements and Design
• Establish and execute unit and string tests
  during Build
• Establish integration test scripts during Build
• Execute integration and system tests during
  Transition / Cutover

• Who?
• PMs confirm the plans and monitor progress
• Team leads establish, manage the plans and sign
  off on test results
• Process owners and team members define the
  testing required and test scripts
• Functional teams and application developers
  execute unit test scripts
• Functional teams, application developers and
  power users execute and sign off integration test
  scripts
• Technical team tests the system

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Testing
IMPLEMENTATION

• Keys to Success
• Unit test all configuration
• Unit test all development objects
• String test scripts together
• Cycles and iterations
• Evolve from unit testing to full business process
  integration testing
• Simulate all operating conditions
• Involve representatives from all key functional
  areas
• Mirror production infrastructure as closely as
  possible for integration tests
• Test the system
• Note All development should be complete prior
  to starting integration testing

• Tools
• Testing Guide

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Signoffs

• Why is this Important?
• Assure clear understanding by all applicable
  parties
• Provide basis to manage and control the project
• Provide documentation for future reference
• Drive expectation management
• Support scope control and change management
• Provides basis for SI payment

IMPLEMENTATION
What are Signoffs? Validation at key points in
the implementation and for key deliverables that
the documented information has been reviewed and
is approved by the signatory.

• When?
• Up front Project Charter and initial Scope
  documents
• Incrementally throughout the project - upon
  completion of key deliverables (ie. plans, scope,
  designs, development objects, test results, etc)
• At end of each phase of implementation

• Who?
• PMs sign off on each phases before proceeding to
  the next and provide update to Steering
  Committee for their approval
• Varies based on deliverables but most signoffs
  are secure from

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Signoffs
IMPLEMENTATION

• Keys to Success
• At the end of each phase of implementation
• Define thorough and detailed acceptance criteria
  in advance (or as provided in task order)
• PMs review status and key deliverables for the
  phase, discusses any questions with applicable
  team members and assures appropriate signoffs
  have been secured for key deliverables
• PMs signoff on phase and provide update to
  Steering Committee
• Steering Committee signoff on phase
• Upon completion of each key deliverable
• Author of each key deliverable secures review and
  signoff of applicable resources

• Tools
• Signoff checklist for each phase
• Deliverables, Concepts Signoff Guide
• Deliverable acceptance form